Why The Houston Rockets Do The Deal

This would certainly represent a pivot for the Rockets. It would be surprising – just don’t rule out the possibility. 

After all, there is a key difference between the Rockets and the Thunder – market size. The Rockets play in one of the league’s larger cities, and as such, they may have an easier time attracting marquee talent. 

Which, in turn, decreases their reliance on the draft. As with the Thunder, rostering Shai Gilgeous-Alexander next season would likely take the Thunder out of the running for the first pick in the 2023 draft.

At the same time, they could reason that they don’t need to be in that race. After all, Gilgeous-Alexander has already produced at a number one pick level in his career. 

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Adding him to a core already featuring Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengun, Kevin Porter Jr. and more might complete this Rockets rebuild on short notice. This team won’t compete for the NBA title next year, but the play-in tournament would be comfortably within range. 

In time, with some key free agent acquisitions, it could get them much further than that in due time.